Our project’s Design Review Submittal was returned with various comments across the board (prereqs, credits and even to PI forms). The final review returned with still two open items, a prerequisite and an PI form#4. After appealing both, we got the prerequisite cleared but, to our surprise, got the PI form rejected again with comments on the projects narrative. By now, we had re-written and submitted this narrative three times and got all submitted design prerqs/credits approved. Apparently we must do something right but are not capable of writing a narrative.
Review Comment:
…’The revised LEED Credit Form narrative and a supplemental narrative have also been provided describing three aspects of the project team`s efforts to create a sustainable project.
However, the provided project narratives do not describe the process for preparing the LEED Certification application or provide examples of substantial challenges faced by the project, as required by the form.’
TECHNICAL ADVICE:
Please provide a revised narrative including a description of the process for preparing the LEED Certification application and examples of substantial challenges faced by the project team in the development of a sustainable project.
Does anyone know what that typical pitfalls for this narrative are and what we could have missed? We are not new to the LEED certification world and have certified numerous buildings. Are there any standard documents describing the process for preparing a LEED Certification? The Review Team says that we do not describe the process for preparing the LEED Certification. Our narrative describes project team, different organizations and related tasks. Also we describe the project site conditions, the process and special challenges, detailed down to the credit name. Are there any headlines available to sufficiently reply to the review comments?
Any input is highly appreciated - thanks to everyone!
Samantha Harrell
LEED Project Reviewer certificate holder115 thumbs up
April 17, 2012 - 11:10 am
Hi Markus, in my experience this narrative submittal is often short and sweet addressing some, but not always all, of the information requested on the form, so it's typical for revisions to be requested. However, if you feel that you've already included the requested descriptions in your narrative, it may help to designate your responses with numbers or highlights to clearly demonstrate that all the required information has been included. (For example "Our process for preparing the LEED certification application consisted of steps 1, 2, and 3. Examples of substantial challenges include x, y, z.")
Not that it needs to be this formal or lengthy, but here's an outline from the LEED Online v3 Help section (Home > Navigating Projects in LOv3 > Later: Reviews & Reviewers > Submit for Review) that you might consider using/modifying to explain how your team prepared the LEED certification application:
1. Designate a Project Administrator or project manager who will be submitting the application for review
2. Complete all forms
3. Mark all credits in the application complete
4. The project owner signs the LEED Certification Agreement
5. The submittal requirements have been met
6. Verify CIRs are complete and any instructions are clear to the reviewer, if applicable.